Robinhood launches public blockchain, expands crypto and DeFi offerings
Robinhood has launched its public blockchain after several months of testing, while unveiling new decentralized finance (DeFi) products and confirming plans to roll out crypto trading in the United Kingdom.
The company announced Wednesday that Robinhood Chain, its Arbitrum-based layer-2 network, is now live after entering testnet in February. Robinhood said the blockchain is designed for tokenized real-world assets and AI-powered applications as it expands its crypto business.
Robinhood also said it plans to launch crypto trading in the UK in the near future. In addition, its tokenized stock products are now available through the Robinhood Wallet app in more than 120 countries. CEO Vlad Tenev has previously described tokenized stocks as ”inevitable,” saying they could help avoid trading disruptions common on traditional exchanges.
The blockchain launch comes weeks after Robinhood announced plans to cut about 10% of its workforce as part of a company restructuring. The company is scheduled to report second-quarter 2026 earnings on July 29. In April, Robinhood said crypto transaction revenue fell nearly 50% year over year, dropping from $252 million to $134 million.
Robinhood also introduced Robinhood Earn, a DeFi lending product that lets users lend USDG, a US dollar-backed stablecoin, through a self-custody wallet for an estimated annual yield of 7%. Robinhood shares rose about 8% following the announcement.
Robinhood joins crowded layer-2 market
With the launch of Robinhood Chain, the company enters the growing layer-2 blockchain market, where networks such as Coinbase-backed Base already have a strong presence.
Base, the second-largest layer-2 network by total value secured at roughly $11 billion, experienced two outages in June within hours of each other. The network’s engineering team later said the disruptions were caused by a sequencer bug.
Featured image from: cointelegraph.com